Helium
by ExplodingWeekend
Summary: Castiel can still see the blue balloon from where he is sitting. He never did like hospitals.


A/N: Again, this is so very very old, but I wanted to put it up here anyways.

The quote is from the play "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail". This is inspired partly by this, and partly by Regina Spektor's song "One More Time With Feeling".

**Helium**

"_In the prison of heaven, that's how the angels make music."_

Castiel disliked hospitals. They reminded him of failure, of those people that the angels had always been helpless to save. They could have easily stepped in any time, when someone had cancer or some mortal injury. It was especially hard to think of all those children that had been lost, when Castiel could have saved them with just a thought.

Underneath the smell of medicine and the bright white walls, however, there were bits and pieces here and there that gave Castiel some hope for hospitals. There was always a doorway you would pass that held the smiling faces of parents whose children were slowly getting better, or couples who had just learned they were expecting a child of their own. There was always some place when Castiel could catch a glimmer of hope, a sliver of happiness, a feeling of… life.

This was why Castiel had helped Sam Winchester drag Dean's unconscious body into the Emergency Room at Coventry Hospital in Minnesota. Of course, it had been partly the angel's fault that Dean had been injured in the first place, as he had asked the Winchester brothers to check out a perplexing haunting that had caught him off guard not far from the hospital.

Dean was sprawled out on the white hospital bed, a thin sheet covering his legs. An IV needle had been stuck into the little space where his arms met, and despite the tan a small bruise was becoming visible where the nurse had jabbed around a bit, searching for the vein.

Sam was asleep in a chair next to the window. He was far too big for it; his knees came up past the seat and his shoulders hunched up to form a cradle for his head whereas the back of the chair could not. Castiel was glad he had finally calmed down; he had fluttered nervously about his brother for about an hour before finally settling in the chair.

Castiel was sitting on the other chair. From it, he had a good view of the hallway, where he could see everyone coming and going. Doctors, nurses, visitors, patients; all had passed by the door at one point.

Castiel slowly leaned back in the chair and peered into the room across from Dean's. The door was open, and he could faintly make out a young girl sitting on the edge of the bed in a blue nightgown. She was swinging her feet back and forth, looking up at a balloon as blue as her nightdress. It was so filled with helium it bounced across the ceiling.

The angel got up and made his way to the room. The girl did not notice him until his figure filled the doorway, and a small shadow graced her pale face. She smiled kindly at him.

"Hello," she said, before returning to looking at the balloon.

Castiel nodded at her and reached up to grasp the balloon's string. He pulled down and the balloon came back to earth.

The little girl cried with delight when he handed it to her, and she slowly bobbed her hand up and down, watching the balloon mimic the motion. Castiel watched it to.

"My name is Maggie," the girl said, the smile still on her face.

Castiel didn't answer her. Instead, he sat down in the small chair next to her bed. He watched her legs swish back and forth. It made him tired, for some reason.

"Why are you here? Are you sick?" The girl asked.

"No, but my… my friend was injured."

"Aww," Maggie pouted. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, he will be fine in just a few hours. He heals very quickly."

"That's good! The doctors say that I'm a good healer too. They called me a miracle after I had my op... um, I forget the word. It's like that game with the beeps and stuff."

Castiel didn't know what game she was talking about, but he made a guess. "Operation?"

"Yeah! That's it." Maggie looked sad for a moment. Castiel didn't like the expression.

He drummed his fingernails lightly against the metal bar of the bed. "In heaven, this is how the angels make music. With anything they can find."

"Are you an angel, mister?" Maggie asked.

Castiel nodded. "Yes."

Maggie looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. "That's super cool!"

Castiel blinked. He was used to that modern jargon from his association with Dean and Sam, but it was odd to hear those words from the mouth of a child. He still remembered when 'thee' and 'thou' was the new and exciting way of speaking.

"Thank you."

"My mommy talked to you a lot when I was sick. Are you why I got better?"

"I don't think I had a part in it, but if you are better, then I am very glad."

The girl tilted her head and smiled at him. "You're nice, mister. I like you."

Castiel smiled back at her. "I like you as well."

Castiel didn't stay for much longer. The room smelled strongly of disinfectant, and it hurt his nose. He did, however, stay until the girl told him he could leave.

"Your friend must be better now," she had said.

In the hallway, Castiel caught a nurse's attention. As she hurried over to him, Castiel moved out of the line of sight of Dean's room, in case Sam wondered what was going on and thought Castiel needed help.

"Hello sir," the nurse said. "May I help you with something?"

The nurse had pretty red hair, much like Anna's had been, and a kind face. Castiel smiled hesitantly at her.

"Yes, the girl in the room…" He trailed off and motioned at the closed door. The nurse looked sad when she saw it.

"Oh, it was a tragedy, you just missed her," the nurse said.

"Sorry, are we talking about Maggie Stevens?"

"Yeah, she passed away only two days ago. She was just having an operation done, and they thought she was going to be fine. They called her a miracle. But then it turned out… she wasn't." The nurse trailed off and rubbed at one eye, as though she had something caught in it. Castiel frowned.

"I see, thank you for the information."

The nurse peeked at her clipboard. "The funeral is tomorrow if you want to go. At the church down the street."

Castiel smiled and thanked her again. "Sorry," he said. "But I'll be out of town by then."

She gave him a curious glance, but Castiel was already stepping back into the room that Dean and Sam were in. They were both still asleep.

Castiel was awake, though, just as he always was. The angel was left alone with his thoughts in the hospital… in the place that he knew he would always hate.


End file.
